Honest to Goodness YA Novel Reviews

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It’s time for the Defying Gravity (Finding Perfect, #2) Cover Reveal!

Last year, on September 14, 2015, Finding Perfect by Kendra C. Highley was released into the world, and I’ve got to say I was hooked. For those of you who don’t know, it’s the story of “Perfect Paige” who has her whole life mapped out, from the exact college and med school she needs to get into to where and how she’ll practice medicine once she finishes. Unfortunately, she a D in calculus and needs a tutor stat! Enter Ben Franklin – yes, he’s related. He agrees to tutor her in exchange for making him – the guy from the wrong side of side of town who wears all the wrong clothes and lives the wrong life – the kind of guy who Zoey, Paige’s BFF would date. Of course, things don’t go to plan, but that doesn’t mean that you won’t love this book.

Ever since I read Finding Perfect I’ve said, to anyone who will listen, or even to people who don’t care to listen, that I ship Ben Franklin so hard, and Paige and Ben are one of my OTPs.

For those who have read Finding Perfect, you’ll know that the epilogue is in Zoey’s POV, and she has some important plans for an upcoming vacation. Well, the vacation is almost here – Defying Gravity releases on July 25, 2016 – and soon, Zoey will get the HEA that she’s always deserved for being such a great friend to Paige.

Defying Gravity releases on July 25, 2016

Before you check out the cover, why not read this swoony excerpt from Parker Madison’s perspective:

The crowd at the entrance started doing strange things. For one, it parted like the sea before Moses. For another, guys stopped dead in their tracks…and those who didn’t stop ran into walls or tripped over their own feet. The women and girls around these guys started rolling their eyes, some good-natured, some not so much.

Parker’s heart hammered like a drunk carpenter had taken over his pulse.

Zoey was on the mountain.

She breezed through the crowd in a lime-green ski suit, her snowboard resting against her shoulder. Blond hair streamed out behind her under the hot pink knit cap she’d been wearing since they were kids, and her cheeks were flushed with the cold. Her smile could stop traffic…no, really, it had stopped traffic. The sudden loss of coordination among the men near the entrance was proof.

He could only imagine what her real smile—the one she only gave him—could do.

Wait. No. He didn’t want her smiling at any other guys that way.

She searched the crowd, oblivious as always to the way people stared, and Parker waved. Laughing, she barreled straight at him, tossing her snowboard to the side, before knocking him into a snow drift. They landed in a clatter of boots, boards, and limbs, with her on top.

Her grin lit up the world. “Parker Madison! How the hell are you?”

His entire body went supernova hot. He could feel every inch of her, despite the layers of ski clothes separating them. Jesus. He choked back a groan and tried to think of anything other than how perfectly they fit together. If she felt how his body responded to her…

He pretended to scowl at her, enjoying the close-up look at her baby-blues. Huh, was she wearing mascara? Since when did she wear makeup on the mountain? Not that he was complaining—she looked amazing. “Zoey, two ages of the universe passed by while I’ve been waiting for you. Maybe even three.”

“Is that so?” She smiled again and tugged on his cap. “I missed you.”

There’s the smile he’d been waiting for. His mouth went dry and he had to swallow a few times before he could speak. Maybe he should just kiss her instead. “Yeah?”

“Yeah.”

And now the moment you’ve been waiting for…

About Defying Gravity:

Disclaimer: This book contains enough sexual tension to melt snow, the hottest near-kiss in the history of near-kisses, and a sexy snowboarder determined to win the heart of the girl he loves.

Zoey Miller lives for her holidays in Aspen. Her time up on the mountain with the Madison brothers, Parker and Luke, is everything. But for the first time, it’s not enough. This time, she’s determined to win one of the brothers’ hearts.

But the brother she has in mind is a renowned player, with hordes of snow-bunnies following him around Snowmass resort. And the other…well, he’s her best friend and knows she deserves better. Namely him. And he’s going to win her heart.

About Kendra C. Highley:

Kendra C. Highley lives in north Texas with her husband and two children. She also serves as staff to four self-important and high-powered cats. This, according to the cats, is her most important job. She believes in everyday magic, extraordinary love stories, and the restorative powers of dark chocolate.